Which to use
“contenían” is a verb and “contenido” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,965
- “contenían” frequency rank
- #889
- “contenido” frequency rank
- 20854
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenían | contenido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contener o de contenerse. | Se aplica al que es moderado o templado. |
Where the eye mixes contenían and contenido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contenían (CVCCVCVVC) and contenido (CVCCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses contenían with contenido
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contenían is [kõn̪t̪eˈniãn] while contenido is [kõn̪t̪eˈnið̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contenían is recorded at frequency rank #19,965, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪eˈniãn]. contenido is at rank #889, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪t̪eˈnið̞o].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 20854, this pair ranks #257,474 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contenían vs contenido
Shared letters: cenot. Private to "contenían": aí. Private to "contenido": di.
"contenían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "contenido" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contenido ← ccontenido · cnotenido · conetnido · conntenido · conteindo · contendio · conteniddo · conteniod
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contenían" and "contenido" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contenían" or "contenido"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contenían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenido" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,474 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contenían" and "contenido" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contenían vs contentar". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #257,474 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.